Jan. 13, 2008 — Maho Bay Art Gallery was green long before green was in. Located at Maho Bay Camps on St. John's north coast, the gallery showcases items made in the campground's Trash to Treasure program.
"We were creating waste from the resort and wanted to do something to eliminate it," marketing manager Melody Smith said.
And create they did. The gallery carries lovely batik items crafted on-site out of the resort's retired bed linens, attractive journals and other paper products made from scrap office paper and clothes drier lint, and unique jewelry fashioned from melted beer and soda cans. But the gallery shines brightest through its stunning pieces of art glass.
The shelves are filled with everything from sun catchers for a mere $10 to big, bold bowls with a $225 price tag. Most are in shades of blue, but there are pieces in green, pink, amber, and more. Many of the pieces reflect the sea, including glass blown into fish and starfish, and all of them, Smith said, are great for wedding gifts.
The pieces for sale at Maho Bay Art Gallery are crafted by a professional staff of artists who also conduct demonstrations and hold classes for the resort's guests. And St. John ceramic artist Gale Van de Bogurt also leads classes and showcases her wares at the gallery.
Smith said the artists add colors to molten clear glass to create the colors, but they make a special line of items made from Heineken beer bottles.
She said that the restaurant staff points out to guests that clear bottles can be recycled, but the brown beer bottles don't meet such a useful end.
"Brown glass doesn't sell," Smith said.
The store's textile artist, J.P. Bumby, said that she's moving the product line from clothing to home décor items because there's less concern about sizing.
"I take the old stained sheets, cut them into usable sizes, batik dye them, and sew them into new saleable products," she explained as she showed off fabric.
The gallery, open for about five years, has its roots in a recycling program that began about 10 years ago. Over the years, staff artists as well as visiting artists have added their expertise to Maho's offerings.
"We've really stepped it up a notch," Smith said.
She said the gallery ships its wares around the globe, using mainly recycled material as packaging.
While Maho Bay Art Gallery is off the beaten path for many St. John shoppers, it's close to the popular Francis Bay beach. And the campground restaurant serves good food at reasonable prices, so a visit to this hidden treasure makes a great afternoon excursion.
Gallery hours coincide with restaurant hours — 8 to 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 to 8 p.m., but if you happen by and find the gallery closed, Maho staff will gladly open it for you.
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